Linkage drive for address-printing machines



Nov. 1, 1955 E. OSTWALDT 2,722,128

LINKAGE DRIVE FOR ADDRESS-PRINTING MACHINES Filed July 23, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l I. Oatmeal/alt Harneys Nov. 1, 1955 E. OSTWALDT 2,722,128

LINKAGE DRIVE FOR ADDRESS-PRINTING MACHINES Filed July 23, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvemor: I. O 5 Zzucz l CZZ'F lorneys are United States Patent LINKAGE DRIVE FOR ADDRESS-PRINTING MACHINES Erich Ostwaldt, Berlin-Hermsdorf, Germany, assignor to Adrema Maschinenbau G. m. b. H., Berlin, Germany Application July 23, 1951, Serial No. 238,046

Claims priority, application Sweden August 4, 195.0

1 Claim. (Cl. 74-38) In address-printing machines the rotating of the driving shaft, effected by means of a hand-crank or a motor, is transmitted through gearing to the transport devices for the intermittent forward feed of the printing plates and of the articles to be printed upon, as well as to the printing platen, which moves up and down. This invention relates to a particularly simple and effective construction of the driving mechanism between the driving shaft and the printing platen, which yields a number of important advantages as regards the space occupied and the kinematic relationships. According to the invention this result is attained by the fact that in the transmission members between the driving shaft and the printing platen two toggle joints are arranged to work in combination to produce the up-and-down movement of the printing platen by means of a connecting rod and a bellcrank lever in such a manner that the connecting rod moves chiefly in its horizontal longitudinal direction.

With this construction of the gear the double-armed printing levers that have hitherto been usual for moving the printing platen, and which, in consequence of their oscillation, require a great deal of space for the housing arm that receives them, are eliminated. Since, with this invention, the connecting-rod that displaces the printing platen executes a substantially reciprocating motion, it requires only a limited space. The housing arm that accommodates it may therefore be made very light and convenient. Furthermore, by this construction of the gear, the result is obtained that with it, towards the end of the printing stroke, an especially powerful pressure is exerted upon the printing platen. There is also the possibility, by a special construction of the driving element for the first toggle joint, of combining with the gear a device for the protection of the fingers.

Further features and details of the invention will be gathered from the ensuing description and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a manually operated address-printing machine;

Figure 2 is a view of the hand-crank with the coupling device fitted in;

Figure 3 shows diagrammatically one form of construction of the gear, without finger-protection, in a position at the end of the printing stroke, the position at the beginning of the printing stroke being indicated by dot-and-dash lines representing the centre lines of the individual transmission elements; and

Figures 4 to 6 show in perspective a further constructional form of the gear, with a device for the protection of the fingers, in various operative positions, namely in a position at the end of the printing stroke in Figure 4, in a position at the beginning of the printing stroke in Figure 5, and in an intermediate position, at which the finger-protection comes into operation, in Figure 6.

The address-printing machine shown in Figure 1 is operated by means of a hand-crank 1 arranged at the front of the machine, which, from a crank shaft, through transmission elements, moves a printing platen 2 vertically up r 2,722,128 Patented Nov. 1, 1955 and down. By this crank, moreover, the usual transport devices for the feeding of the articles to be printed upon and for the feeding of the printing plates are actuated, but these devices in themselves form no part of the invention, and are therefore not described in further detail,

The gear represented in Figure 3 comprises a driving crank 5, which is connected by a link 6 with the end of an arm 7 rotatably supported about an axis 9. About the same axis 9 is mounted a second arm 8, which, together with the arm 7, forms a rockable bell-crank lever 7, 8. The outer end of the arm 8 is pivoted to one end of a rocker 11, which is oscillatably suspended at the centre by means of a link 12 pivotally mounted on the casing. The other end of the rocker is connected by a connectingrod 18 with a bell-crank lever 19, which is supported on the casing arm 22 (Figure 1), and which brings about the lifting motion of the printing body. As will be gathered from the diagram, the arm 8 and the rocker 11 form one pair of toggle levers, and the rocker 11, with the lever arm 12, forms the second pair of toggle levers, the rocker being common to both pairs.

As compared with this simplest formation of the gear according to the present invention, Figures 4 to 6 show in perspective a modified construction, which is provided with a device for the protection of fingers inadvertently located beneath the printing platen. In this constructional form of the gear, the hand-crank 1 is supported in the machine casing by means of a sleeve 3, through which passes a shaft 4. In normal operation the hand-crank 1 is connected with the shaft 4 by a clutch or coupling hereinafter described. On the end of the shaft 4 is mounted the crank arm 5, which is connected by the drive rod 6 to one arm 7 of the bell-crank lever 7, 8. This bell-crank lever consists of the lever arms 7 and 8 pivotally mounted on a shaft 9. Both these lever arms are subject to the influence of a spring 10, which is mounted upon the shaft 9, and holds these two lever arms in perpendicular relationship to one another by virtue of the fact that a projection 7 provided on the lever arm 7 bears against a projection 8' on the other lever arm 8. The two lever arms cease to be perpendicular to one another only when a force that overcomes the force of the spring 10 acts upon one or other of the lever arms. So long as this is not the case, the two arms behave as a rigid whole.

The end of the lever arm 8 is pivotally connected with the rocker 11, which is so suspended on the end of a link 12 that it can oscillate about a pivot 11'. The link is rockable about an axis 12' in the machine casing.

On one arm 8 of the bell-crank lever 7, 8, which at the same time forms one arm of the first toggle joint 8, 11, a double-armed lever 14 is rockable about a pivot, One arm of this lever is connected by a tension spring 15 with the arm 8. The other arm of the lever 14 bears upon a pivot 16 mounted on the rocker 11. The free end of the spring-controlled arm of the lever 14 engages, in the working position shown in Figure 4, behind a nose 17 rigidly secured to the lever arm 7.

To the other end of the rocker 11 is pivoted a substantially horizontal or nearly horizontal connecting-rod 18, the other end of which is connected with one end of a bell-crank lever 19. The other arm of this bell-crank lever is attached by means of a link 20 sliding in a recess provided in the middle of a guiding journal 21 which carries the printing platen 2, and which is so supported as to be displaceable up and down in the printing head 23 mounted on the end of the hollow casing arm 22. The bell-crank lever 19 is mounted loose upon a pivot 24, supported at the end of the hollow casing arm 22, but is preferably mounted not directly upon the pivot 24 but upon an eccentric 25 which is mounted upon the pivot, and which, being ad- 3 justable by hand, yields the possibility of shifting the fulcrum of the bell-crank lever to a small extent.

In Figure 4 the individual gear members are represented in the position in which the printing platen assumes its lowest position, and therefore exerts the maximum pressure upon what is placed beneath it.

Figure 5 shows the position of the individual gear parts when the printing platen is raised. In this case the handcrank is rotated, relatively to the position in Figure 4, through 180 degrees, the point of attachment of the drive rod 6 to the crank arm 5 being now located at the righthand dead-centre. In this position the rocker 11 assumes, relatively to the arm 8 of the toggle-joint 8, 11, such a position that the pivot 16 mounted on the rocker keeps the other end of the double-armed lever 14 out of engagement with the nose 17 of the lever arm 7. The lever arm 8 is almost horizontal, and has pulled the rocker 11 and the link 12 inwards. Under these circumstances the arm 8 forms, with the rocker 11, a toggle joint. Furthermore the rocker 11 forms, with its link 12, a second pair of toggle levers in series therewith, which acts upon the connectingrod 18 connected with the bell-crank lever 19. Shortly before the termination of the printing stroke the first toggle joint 8, 11 is in a straight position, and the rocker 11 then assumes such a position that one end of the doublearmed lever 14 again engages behind the nose 17, and thereby supports the lever arms 7, 8 against relative movement against the action of the spring 10, and couples the two lever arms-7 and 8, which are perpendicular to one another, rigidly together. These are then in a condition to exert a greatly increased pressure, at the end of the stroke, upon the second toggle joint, which is nearly in the straight position.

The apparatus described furnishes at the same time a protection against injury to the fingers that may inadvertently be located beneath the printing platen. In this case the first toggle joint 8, 11 cannot move into the straight position, shown in Figure 5, as a result of which also the double-armed lever 14 cannot come into engagement with the nose 17. In consequence of the failure of the rigid coupling between the lever arms 7 and 3, the strong closing pressure can no longer be exerted upon the second toggle joint 11, 12 upon further rotation of the crank, because the two lever arms 7 and 8 can swing out by overcoming the force of the spring 10. The fingers are therefore only exposed to a slight pressure occasioned by the spring 10.

In Figure 2 is illustrated one constructional form of the coupling between the hand-crank 1 and the shaft 4 to be driven thereby. Here, in a recess in the crank arm, a double-armed lever 26 is rockably journalled about a pivot. The free end of this lever, under the action of a spring 27, can engage in a groove 28 at the end of the shaft 4. The coupling can be engaged and disengaged by means of a controlling screw 29 or the like acting upon the other arm of the lever 26.

The invention is not restricted to the constructional examples described, which might be modified in various respects without going outside the ambit of the invention. In particular, the manual drive may be replaced by a motor drive.

I claim:

In an address-printing machine, the combination of a printing bed; a casing mounted on said bed and including a standard with an offset printing arm; a platen vertically guided and supported by said arm; a driving shaft journaled in said bed; a crank mounted on said shaft; and a linkage connecting said crank and said platen and adapted to move said platen up and down, said linkage comprising a bellcrank lever pivoted on said bed, a link connecting said crank and one arm of said lever, a second link pivoted on said casing, a rocking member pivoted on said second link and having one end pivoted on the other arm of said bellcrank lever, a rod having one end pivoted to the other end of said rocking member, a second bellcrank lever for actuating said platen, pivoted on said printing arm, the other end of said rod being pivoted to said second bellcrank lever, the fulcrum of said rocking member and the fulcrum of said second link being so relatively disposed that said rod connecting said rocking member and said second bellcrank lever, during its movement, is constantly horizontal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,184,433 Duncan May 23, 1916 1,222,695 Taylor Apr. 17, 1917 1,231,577 Duncan July 3, 1917 1,975,074 Colyer Oct. 2, 1934 2,056,402 Klocke Oct. 6, 1936 2,562,044 Klocke July 24, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 5,559 Great Britain Mar. 5, 1914 

